Method of and apparatus for deliv



July 7, 1942. WEBER ETAL 2,288,870

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING TICKETS, FLAT STRIPS. AND SIMILAR LAMINAE SINGLY FROM A STACK Filed Dec. 30, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 7,1842;

G. E. WEBER ETAL METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING TICKETS, FLAT STRIPS, AND SIMILAR LAMINAE SINGLY FROM A STACK Filed D60. 30, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 flvwsflrwes 60574 V05 5 WEBEE J5SSE. 5 9 M L-1a Patented July 7, 194-2 NEETHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR DELIV- ERING TICKETS, FLAT STRIPS, AND SIM- ILAR LAMINAE SINGLY FROM A STACK Gustavus Ernest Weber, Buckhurst Hill, and Jesse Sawyer, Harold Wood, England Application December 30, 1940, Serial No. 372,376 In Great Britain November 14, 1940 6 Claims.

This invention. relates to a method of and apparatus for delivering tickets, fiat strips and similar laminae singly from a stack.

Apparatus employed up to the present for the above purpose comprises a stationary holder for containing a stack of laminae, a floor to said holder, front and rear walls to said holder both terminating short of the floor thereof to leave front and back slots, the front slot having a depth slightly exceeding that of a single lamina but less than that of two laminae, and a sliding blade adapted by entry into the holder from a transverse direction through the back slot to engage by its leading edge the lowermost lamina of the stack for the purpose of ejecting same through the front slot. With such existing apparatus it frequently happens, particularly in the case where same is designed for use with thin or long laminae, that the lamina for delivery becomes jammed owing to same being slightly oversize in thickness or not being absolutely flat throughout its length. The latter defect is especially liable to cause trouble in the case of long laminae such as flat strips. The said jamming results from the fact that the depth of the front delivery slot cannot be increased to an extent which would obviate these defects as the increased depth would then allow of more than one lamina being delivered.

The present invention aims at providing a method of and apparatus for delivering tickets, flat strips and similar laminae such as will ensure proper delivery of the lowermost lamina and obviate the possibility of jamming even in the event of the laminae being of irregular thickness or being distorted from a flat plane. 8

ing the above characteristics, which is simple in I construction and which will be foolproof in operation.

The invention accordingly provides a method of delivering tickets; fiat strips and similar laminae singly from a stack, in which the stack of laminae and a floor having an upstanding projection are moved one in relation to the other to cause the projection to engage the lowermost lamina and eject same from the stack, and in which a lamina or laminae disposed above and in the region of the ejected lamina is or are retained during the ejecting operation by means of a flexible wiper which performs a sweeping action over the ejected lamina.

a As will be readily understood, the flexible Wiper will, by its yielding action, readily adapt itself to delivered laminae of varying overall depth and thus will handle, with equal efficiency, laminae of accurate thickness and true fiat form, and

those which are of inaccurate thickness or distorted from a fiat plane.

The invention also consists in an apparatus for delivering tickets, flat strips and similar laminae singly from a stack, said apparatus comprising a holder for a stack of laminae and an ejector for displacing the lowermost lamina from the front of the stack by relative movement of the stack and ejector, and being characterized in that the front of the holder is formed at the bottom with a gap having a depth appreciably greater than that necessary for delivery of a lamina, and is fitted with a flexible wiper occupying said gap, said wiper being adapted to perform a sweeping movement over the lowermost lamina displaced from the stack and to bear against and retain in the stack the other lamina or laminae disposed above and in the region of the displaced lamina.

In order that the invention may be readily understood, reference is directed to the accompanying drawings illustrating examples of delivery apparatus constructed according thereto, and wherein:

Figure l is a vertical section through a ticketissuing machine embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional plan on line 11-11 in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 but show ing the carrier, which contains the stack of tickets, pulled to a forward position; and

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing the carrier part-way returned to its original position.

Figure 5 is a vertical section through a machine, embodying the invention, for delivering long fiat strips and conveying same singly in succession to a table on which they become deposited in side-by-side relation.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan view of Figure 5; and,

Figures 7 and 8 are vertical sections through the carrier of the machine shown in Figure 5, said carrier being shown in different positions in these views to illustrate the manner of delivering the strips.

Referring firstly to Figures 1 to l, the apparatus comprise a box-like outer casing I!) having an open front, the floor ll of said casing constituting a base member. Within said casing there is mounted, so as to slide horizontally therein, a carrier 12 in the form of a box-like member having open upper and lower ends, said carrier being adapted to contain a stack of tickets I3 and a weight M- adapted to bear thereon. Suitable co-operating means are provided on the casing and carrier to limit the extent of sliding movement of the carrier through the front of the casing, and, in the example shown, such means comprise pins [9 which project downwardly from the rear wall of the carrier and which travel in grooves 26 formed in the casing floor H. Or bottom extensions [5 to the carrier side walls, which slide in grooves IS in the casing floor ll, may constitute the said movement-limiting means. A knob I1 is provided on the carrier 12 for performing the movements thereof.

Upon the floor H of the casing is fixed a plate l8, and when the carrier is in its rearmost position, shown in Figure 1, the lowermost ticket of the stack l3 rests upon said plate I8. The front of said plate I8 is terminated at such a position that when the carrier is pulled forward to the full extent (Figure 3) the lowermost ticket advanced by pins i9 is deposited on the casing floor II at a position in advance of said plate and the front edge thereof, which projects above the floor, constitutes an abutment.

The front wall 22 of the carrier I2 terminate short of the casing floor II so as to leave a gap, and said gap is occupied by a set oi: bristles 23 which are fixed in the bottom of the carrier front wall 22 and constitutes a brush. Said bristles extend to, or approximately to, the casing floor H.

Dealing now with the operation of the machine, a stack of tickets is placed in the carrier l2, together with the weight 14, and the lowermost ticket comes to rest on the plate I8. To deliver a ticket, the carrier I2 is pulled forward as far as possible by gripping the hand knob ll, the carrier now reaching the position shown in Figure 3. During such movement the carrier transports the stack of tickets I3 along with it, and the pins l9 serve as pushers for the bottom ticket. When the fully advanced position is reached, the lowermost ticket becomes deposited on the casing floor H in front of the plate I8. The carrier 12 is now pushed back, and, during this return movement, the front wall 22 of said carrier bears against the major upper part of the stack I 3 to bodily return said stack, whilst the brush bristles 23 press against the tickets which lie below the level of the carrier wall 22, to compel the return of said lower batch of tickets, the ends of the bristles 23 performing a sweeping movement over the lowermost ticket 25 retained by plate 58.

As will be clearly understood, the brush bristles 23 constitute a flexible wiper which yields to accommodate the thickness of the stationary lowermost ticket 25 during the return movement of the carrier i2. At the same time, however, said bristles, by their resistance, will compel the return of tickets other than the lowermost one. By their yielding action, the bristles 23 will perm it the displacement from the stack of a ticket which is oversize in thickness or one which is distorted out of a true fiat plane.

The plate !8 has a thickness slightly less than that of the tickets employed in the machine, so that during the return movement of the carrier there is no fear of said plate abutting any ticket above the lowermost one.

As shown in Figure 2, the base H of the casing is cut away at the front to such an extent that the back edge 24 of the cut-away part lies behind the front of the ejected ticket 25. This enables the ejected ticket to be easily grasped and removed.

The machine shown in Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 incorporates a delivery device constructed and operating similar to the hand-operated ticketissuing machine already described, and incorporating a conveyor for collecting the laminae in side-by-side relation, the laminae in this case being in the form of long thin strips or slats. Said machine accordingly comprises an elongated carrier l2 for a stack of strips l3, said carrier being mounted to slide upon the bed plate 26 of an inverted channel-section base member 21, and being accordingly attached to a bar 28 extending transversely of said base member and arranged to slide beneath arched guide members 29. The ejector plate I8 is fixed on the bed plate 26, the bottom strip of the stack being delivered on said bed plate. I

To the bed plate 25 are attached shafts 39, 3| and 32, the shaft 3| being power-driven by means of a driving belt 33 or otherwise. A conveyor belt 34 passes around a belt drum 36 on shaft 30, said conveyor belt being provided with fingers 31,'said fingers, when in the upper section of the belt, extending above the upper surface of the bed plate 26,-and passing through coinciding slots in the bed plate 25 andjejector plate [8.

Y Shaft 3I'is coupled by a driving means, such as by a chain 38 passing over sprockets 39 and 4D, to shaft 32, and said shaft 32 has fixed thereon a crank disc 4|. A connecting rod 42 is coupled at one end to the crank pin 43 'of said crank disc, and at its other end to a stud 44 provided on the carrier I2. The said crank disc and connecting rod serve as a means for reciprocating the carrier l2 from the power drive imparted to shaft 3|. 7

The fingers 31 are adapted to successively engage'behind and 'push forward the strips 45 delivered from the stack [3, the drive of the conveyor 34 bein synchronised with the reciprocating motion of the carrier l2 in a manner to ensure successive'engagement and propulsion of the strips. The conveyor 34 feeds the strips 45 on to a table 46 constituted by a front portion of the bed plate 26, said strips being collected on said table in co-planar side-by-side relation. The strips thus collected can be fed into an adjoining machine arranged to pick them up and handle them in any required manner, for instance, a machine which secures the strips in parallel relation on to a'sheet-of paper or other material, or which interposes and secures them between separate sheets. The'forward propulsion of the collected sheets effected by the pushing action of those which are fed up behind, may be relied upon to efiect feed into the adjoining machine.

In Figure 7, the carrier of the machine is shown in its advanced position, in which it deposits the lowermost strip in front of the ejector plate'l8, and in Figure 8, the carrier is shown returning to leave the lowermost strip 45 retained in the stationary position, i.' e. ejected from the stack ready to be picked up by one of the fingers 31.

As shown in Figures 7 and 8, a springy blade 41 attached to the carrier 12 may be arranged to bear on the front of thebrush 23 to maintain tension thereon, this arrangement being applicable also to the ticket-delivery apparatus shown in Figures 1 to 4.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for delivering tickets, flat strips and similar laminae singly from a stack, comprising, a flat base member, an upstanding projection rigid with the base member, said projection normally supporting the stack and having its front edge servin as an ejector abutment, a carrier adapted to contain a stack of laminae and bodily movable over the base member for depositing the lowermost lamina, in front of the abutment edge of the projection, a rigid front for the carrier whose bottom edge terminates short of the base member to leave a gap, and a flexible wiper attached to said carrier front so as to occupy said gap, said wiper being adapted during return motion of the carrier to perform a yielding sweeping movement over the lamina engaged by the abutment edge of said projection to bear against and push back lamina or laminae disposed above and in the region of the bottom lamina, said bottom lamina bein ejected from the stack by return movement of the carrier.

2. An apparatus for delivering tickets, fiat strips and similar laminae singly from a stack, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible wiper comprises a set of bristles constituting a brush.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, having a plate attached to the base member on which the stack of laminae are supported in the returned position of the carrier, the front edge of said plate constituting the base projection for stationary retention of the advanced lowermost lamina.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the carrier is provided at the back with downwardly extending pins which travel in grooves in the base member, said pins serving as pushers for engaging and propelling forward the lowermost lamina of the stack.

5. An apparatus for delivering tickets, flat strips and similar alminae singly from a stack, comprising a flat base member, an ejector plate mounted upon said base member, a box-like carrier having open upper and lower ends and which is mounted to slide upon said base member so that in one position the chamber contained within the carrier overlies the ejector plate, whilst in the other position of the carrier the said chamber lies in front of said ejector plate, a rigid back to the carrier which at the bottom terminates short of the base member to leave a space for entry of the ejector plate into the carrier, a rigid front to the carrier which at the bottom terminates short of the base member to leave a gap appreciably greater than the depth of a single lamina, and a set of bristles attached to and downwardly extending from the bottom of the carrier front approximately to the base member, so as to occupy the front gap, the arrangement being such that the stack of laminae rests on the ejector plate when the carrier is positioned thereabove, the lowermost lamina being deposited on the base member and in front of the ejector plate when the carrier is drawn forward and being retained stationary by the ejector plate when the carrier is pushed back, the bristles performing a yielding wiping motion over the said retained lamina during the said return movement of the carrier and pushing back the laminae situated above and in the region of the ejected lamina.

6. A machine for delivering fiat strips and similar laminae singly from a stack and conveying same for side-by-side collection on a table, comprising a base member constructed to provide a bed plate, an ejector plate mounted upon said base member, a carrier adapted to contain a stack of laminae and. bodily move same over the ejector plate so as to deposit the lowermost lamina in front of said ejector plate, a rigid front to the carrier which terminates short of the base member to leave a gap, a flexible wiperattached to said carrier front so as to occupy said gap, said wiper being adapted, during return motion of the carrier, to perform a yielding sweeping movement over the lamina engaged by the front edge of the ejector plate and to bear against and push back the lamina or laminae disposed above and in the region of the bottom lamina, said bottom lamina being ejected from the stack by such return movement of the carrier, a power-driven shaft mounted on the base member and fitted with a crank for imparting sliding movement to the carrier, and a power-driven conveyor mounted within the base member and having a series of fingers adapted during travel of said conveyor to project through and above the upper surface of the base member, the said conveyor being synchronised with the movements of the carrier so that the strips delivered from the carrier are successively engaged by the conveyor fingers and pushed along the bed plate, said conveyed strips collecting on a portion of the bed plate situated at the front end of the machine.

GUSTAVUS ERNEST WEBER. JESSE SAWYER. 

